Amazing Adaptations

Wisconsin is always known to have crazy weather, and September has been no exception. Wisconsin can go from sunny and 80 degrees one day, to 50 degrees and windy the next day and weather that is everything in between that. I do not want to talk about the study of climate and weather today, but it is a very interesting science topic to study. Today I want to talk about the amazing adaptations the human body makes in regards to weather.

The last few days have been mid-fifties which is typical for a Wisconsin fall and everyone has been saying how chilly it has been. It so interesting to me how our bodies adapt, because right now mid-fifties feels cold to us, but when it is mid-fifties in the middle of January or early Spring we feel like it is a heat wave. It is the same in spring when we have a really warm day and people make comments like, "It's so hot outside", when during the middle of summer it would be considered a very cool day. I wonder how our bodies adapt to these weather changes, and how quickly it changes. It would be very interesting to take a person and have them live in different climate regions to see how quickly they would adjust. For instance take a person from Florida, where its hot and humid almost all of the time, and put them in Wisconsin during a heavy winter storm.

After doing some researching it seems as though there are many processes that help to control and regulate body temperature, especially in extreme climates. For example people who live in extreme cold, like the Inuit have an increased basal metabolic rate, increased fat insulation of vital organs, and a change in blood flow patterns.

What to know more?